Member of the Tribe

Wait, wait! I didn't fall asleep watching the debate--only the post-game wrap-up, which I wanted to see but wasn't really necessary, as the victor emerged so clearly and early on that I cannot imagine even a Fox commentator taking a contrary stance to mine. Although I'm sure they did, and that's fine. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

I wasn't going to write about the election tonight, or really at all here, but I find myself drawn to the subject like a moth to a flame. Which is a bad cliche to use because in it, the moth burns up and dies, when--I am increasingly confident--the moth in this case is going to be fluttering all the way to an inaugural ball at the White House. (I am speaking metaphorically, Dad. I'm not actually going to be invited to the inaugural ball.)

Today, for a variety of reasons, I found myself thinking about a concept I have written about before: that of the tribe. Of the many tribes I feel so grateful to belong to, the tribe of my high school is one of my favorites. Twenty years after graduating from this school, I still am in touch with so many of my classmates--and my classmates are in touch with so many of each other--that I wonder if it is a phenomenon that exists outside the world of regular high schools altogether. Certainly none of my other friends maintain such close ties with or feel such love for and pride in the school they attended between the ages of fourteen and eighteen-years-old.

One of the reasons I was reminded of my love for this tribe today--and my friends from my high school are of all ages; some were not there when I was; others are twenty years my senior--was by the amazing number of contributions my fellow graduates are making to the Democratic campaign of Barack Obama. Thanks to their updates, I know people who have been busy canvassing and registering voters in states all over country, organizing fundraisers, writing articles in national publications, making political art, and doing all they can in active ways to ensure that this country take a dramatic turn in an opposite direction from where it's been headed.

I don't think this is a coincidence. I think my high school attracts students who do actually believe they can change the world, and then sets out to show them how in the best possible ways: by finding their passions and making them work for the greater good of society. Even at fourteen most of my classmates were politically aware, engaged with the world outside the school and committed to causes as far-reaching as anti-apartheid, environmental awareness (not nearly as big in general in the eighties), civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, animal protection agencies, the needs of the elderly, and much, much more.

I am starting to sound like a glossy brochure, so I will stop. I guess all I really wanted to say was that I am a very proud member of this tribe, inspired by its members and committed to remaining true to its values and shared sense of purpose. Thanks, guys.